“Farmers who don’t use crop insurance can manage risk through other means, said Daniel Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California-Davis.

“Diversification in crops, diversification in market channels, saving and investments across alternative instruments, lines of credit, vertical integration and using tools like forward contracting” can hedge risk, Sumner said in an email. Growers of short-season fresh produce can sometimes simply replant, as they have several harvests per year, he said.”